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Food Habits of the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista Philippensis) in a Rain Forest Fragment, Western Ghats

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Food Habits of the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista Philippensis) in a Rain Forest Fragment, Western Ghats Journal of Mammalogy, 89(6):1550–1556, 2008 FOOD HABITS OF THE INDIAN GIANT FLYING SQUIRREL (PETAURISTA PHILIPPENSIS) IN A RAIN FOREST FRAGMENT, WESTERN GHATS R. NANDINI* AND N. PARTHASARATHY Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605 014, India Present address of RN: National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science campus, Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/89/6/1550/911817 by guest on 28 September 2021 Bangalore, 560 012, India Present address of RN: Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA We examined the feeding habits of the Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) in a rain-forest fragment in southern Western Ghats, India, from December 1999 to March 2000. Flying squirrels consumed 4 major plant parts belonging to 9 plant species. Ficus racemosa was the most-eaten species (68.1%) during the period of the study, followed by Cullenia exarillata (9.57%) and Artocarpus heterophyllus (6.38%). The most commonly consumed food item was the fruit of F. racemosa (48.93%). Leaves formed an important component of the diet (32.97%) and the leaves of F. racemosa were consumed more than those of any other species. Flying squirrels proved to be tolerant of disturbance and exploited food resources at the fragment edge, including exotic planted species. Key words: edge, Ficus, fig fruits, folivore, Petaurista philippensis, rain-forest fragment, Western Ghats The adaptability of mammals allows them to exist in varied across the Western Ghats seem to increase with disturbance. environments and helps them to cope with habitat fragmenta- Ashraf et al. (1993) found that P. philippensis was encountered tion. Predicting the reaction of mammals to landscape most in cardamom plantations, and Umapathy and Kumar modification and fragmentation is challenging because various (2000) reported that densities increased with disturbance in species react differently to the same perturbations (Johns 1997). rain-forest fragments in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Even closely related species that share life-history strategies Ghats. Similar trends have been seen for other species of the and dietary characteristics react divergently (Simberloff and genus Petaurista in Southeast Asia, where population densities Dayan 1991; Thiollay 1992). Some species are known to of Petaurista were higher in logged forests than in unlogged increase in density after habitat fragmentation, whereas others forests (Barrett 1984). decline or disappear. Species that are persistent are often The Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. otherwise known to be adaptable, and are able to modify their 2000) in southern India, is under increasing human pressure behavior, ranging patterns, and dietary patterns to accommo- with a forest-cover loss of 25.6% over the past 25 years (Jha date changes in forest structure and composition (Johns 1997). et al. 2000). Conversion of forested areas to plantations that Feeding ecology is an important aspect of the survival ability destroy or alter the habitat is known to affect the population of a species. The forest structure, plant productivity patterns, size and dispersal ability of flying squirrels in temperate forests and availability of resources change after disturbance, and and result in the invasion of competitors, predators, and some herbivores cope by exploiting common resources, pathogens (Weigl et al. 1999). whereas others reduce activity and conserve energy (Meijaard Muul and Lim Boo Liat (1978) described large flying et al. 2005). squirrels of the genus Petaurista as being primarily folivorous The Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)is based on their stomach morphology. As part of a larger study to a nocturnal arboreal mammal whose populations in some sites examine effects of habitat fragmentation on flying squirrels, we conducted a preliminary examination of the diet of flying squirrels in a rain-forest fragment in the Anamalai Hills of the * Correspondent: [email protected] Western Ghats for a period of 3 months. Our objectives were to examine if flying squirrels use food items in proportion to Ó 2008 American Society of Mammalogists availability or if they are selective in their use of resources; to www.mammalogy.org examine the use of introduced plant species in plantations and 1550 December 2008 NANDINI AND PARTHASARATHY—DIET OF PETAURISTA IN FRAGMENTED RAIN FOREST 1551 forest fragments in the diet of flying squirrels; and to examine the nearest tree (30 cm girth at breast height) in each of the use of the forest fragment interior and adjoining habitats by 4 quadrats, and the girth, height, and species identification flying squirrels. of these trees were recorded. The presence of understory in increasing height-class intervals was recorded around the focal tree. MATERIALS AND METHODS Feeding habits of P. philippensis.—Trails were walked in Study site.—The study was conducted in a rain-forest the forest interior and edge between 1830 and 2230 h. Flying fragment near Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, southern squirrels were detected by eyeshine and the sound of their Western Ghats. This sanctuary, one of the largest protected calls or occasionally by their movement in the trees. Flashlights areas in southern India, encompasses rain-forest fragments (12 V) were used and observations were made using a pair of ranging from 1 to 2,500 ha in size (Prabhakar 1998). Most Nikon 7 Â 50 binoculars (Nikon, Inc., Melville, New York). Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/89/6/1550/911817 by guest on 28 September 2021 fragments in and around the sanctuary were created between Once a squirrel was identified, the tree species it was on, tree 1860 and 1978 when the forests were leased for the cultivation height, height of the animal on the tree, and behavior of the of tea, coffee, cardamom, Eucalyptus, rubber, and teak. The animal were recorded. When a squirrel was seen feeding, the shortest distance between any fragment and the nearest forest plant part consumed and the phenophase of the part were noted. patch ranges between 1 and 5 km. This method of diet calculation emphasizes the diversity of The study site, Puthuthottam, is located on the Valparai various items ingested by the squirrel, but provides no data on plateau (;220 km2), which comprises rain-forest fragments the amount of each species consumed (Paschoal and Galetti amid privately owned tea, coffee, Eucalyptus, and cardamom 1995). Once the observation was made, we moved along the plantations. Puthuthottam (108209N, 768589E, elevation 1,085 m), trail until the next individual was sighted. Squirrels did not 92 ha in size, was formed in 1906 (Congreve 1938), and is seem to flee the light, especially when they were engaged in the isolated, surrounded by tea and coffee plantations with no act of feeding. Only the 1st few seconds of observation of an corridor linking it to other fragments. The nearest large frag- animal’s behavior were used to collect data in the manner of an ment, the Iyerpadi–Akkamalai complex (;2,000 ha) is 4 km instantaneous scan sample. However, a few individuals did away. The fragment was under-planted with coffee and carda- seem to be bothered by the light, and if they altered their mom and has a history of selective logging, the last time being behavior before the observer could ascertain their initial in 1992 (Prabhakar 1998). Being close to human habitation, it behavior, the data point was discarded during analysis. Few is highly disturbed with regular felling of trees and collection data were rejected through such disturbance caused by the of fuel wood. observer. The area receives ;3,000 mm of rain annually, and the Vegetation parameters were quantified for the squirrel’s food vegetation is classified as western tropical wet evergreen forest trees as well as random trees to provide a comparison of food- (West Coast tropical evergreen forest; climax vegetation tree choice against the available habitat. The parameters type—Mesua–Cullenia–Palaquium association—Champion recorded were girth at breast height, height, canopy cover and Seth 1968). Despite its small size and isolation, the and canopy contiguity of the focal tree, presence–absence of fragment is known to support threatened and restricted-range surrounding understory, and the distance to the 4 nearest trees arboreal mammals (Rajamani et al. 2002; Umapathy and and their girths. Kumar 2000). Fieldwork was carried out between December Encounter rates.—In addition to the above-mentioned trails, 1999 and March 2000, and coincided with the dry season. we also walked trails in the plantations to estimate the Estimation of vegetation parameters.—Vegetation charac- abundance of flying squirrels. The encounter rate was ters were recorded to determine details of the available habitat calculated as the number of flying squirrels seen per kilometer in the fragment. Two habitat types were identified: forest of trail walked. interior and edge (habitat between forest and plantations). The Data analysis.—The density and dominance of tree species site had existing trails around the edge and through the interior, at the site were calculated using the software package and for this study we identified 3 trails that together covered KREBSWIN version 3.1 (Krebs 1998). SPSS (Norusis 1990) most of the fragment. No fresh trails were cut through the forest was used for analysis and to test for significance of the given its already fragmented condition. Also, the site is variables. privately owned, and it was logistically difficult to cut fresh trails. Thirty-four point quarters (Cottam and Curtis 1956) were laid along trails through the interior and along the edge to RESULTS characterize the general habitat. Plots were laid 10 m to the left Forest structure and composition.—The edge and interior and right of the trail alternatively at 100-m intervals along the habitats proved to be different in tree species composition trail. Girth at breast height, height, canopy cover, and canopy (Table 1) and vegetation characteristics (Table 2).
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